One of the obstacles normally encountered by advancing ground troops is a series of mine fields. Historically, a number of techniques have been used to neutralize mines, such as detonating explosives ahead of an advancing column, pushing mine rollers ahead of tanks, or using flails to strike the ground in front of advancing vehicles. One other technique is to bulldoze or plow the ground by means of a blade mounted on the front of a vehicle. My invention is an improved blade for removing mines by this latter technique.
My invention is a combination bulldozer and plow blade that has teeth in the center to deeply rake earth through which they dig. The teeth allow loose earth to bypass them to an area underneath the tank, but the teeth cull out larger debris and mines. The cross sections of the teeth are rearwardly tapered to prevent an object from becoming wedged therebetween. A set of ridges disposed on the face of the blade carry the mines and larger debris from the teeth to the outboard edges of the blade for deposit in mounds beside the tank's path. The lower outboard zones of the blade dig earth in a bulldozing fashion and the ridges assist in the outboard movement of dug earth from these zones so that accumulation of earth in front of the blade is minimized and the power needed to continue plowing is reduced.